Roma
by BetweenLines55
Summary: Nico thought things were finally winding down, but gods, was he wrong. The lovely Lady of Love herself comes knocking on their door in Roma, and Nico and Hermione once again are thrown into an adventure. Sequel to Surrey. Rating may go up, I don't know yet.
1. When in Rome

**So, a few things first. Things are kinda sexual in this chapter, but it's not graphic at all, so I'm going to keep the rating at T for now, but I haven't any idea if it's going to get bumped up. Another thing, has anyone seen the Sea of Monsters movie? I'm so upset. I won't spoil it for anyone but I don't think it's worth 6 bucks (American) to go see it. Argh.**

**Enjoy the long awaited sequel though. **

**Chapter 1**

**When in Rome**

Nico woke to the smell of lilac.

He was confused for a moment, muscles quickly tightening to be ready to fight the intruder, but quickly memories overcame the tug of Morpheus, and the son of Hades realized it was Hermione that smelled of lilac.

Ah, Hermione Granger of the Golden Trio. She was far away from home, in his bed, in his wonderful _Roma_. Much better than her London, or Surrey to be exact, where evil lurked in pub alleys and the whole city smelled of damp. He was very happy to be back in his homeland where if evil did lurk, it had the decency to smell better and speak Italian.

He ran a hand through the deep brown curls, long nimble fingers getting tangled within the knots and snarls. The brunette witch sighed in her sleep and curled closer to him, a hand, which Nico had not noticed until that moment, strengthening its hold on his bicep.

Initially, it hadn't meant for her to end up in his bed quite so _soon_, (not that he was complaining or anything) but it had been a very _long_ night, and the thing that the to two of them needed the most was to actually do what they had been supposed to have done that night, have a bit of fun.

Now that he thought about it, they never did have that cup of coffee. They had been rather preoccupied when they first arrived with trying to actually get to the bedroom. He was proud of the both of them that they had made it.

Nico let himself relax back into the sheets, pulling the duvet a little tighter around them. Hermione shifted once more, her head of curls resting on his chest. The demigod smiled to himself, he needed this, gods knew he needed this.

It was about five more minutes before Hermione stirred, sleepy brown eyes opening to look up at Nico's face. Blinking a few times to clear Morpheus from her mind, Hermione returned the small smile that had still not left Nico's face.

"Mmm, good morning. What time is it?" She asked. She yawned and stretched before settling back down next to him.

Turning his head enough to look at the clock on the bedside table, Nico said, "Quarter till eleven."

"Oh, we slept in," Hermione said. Nico turned back to her and smirked, "I don't know what you do in England, _cara_, but this is Italy, and we're up early."

She laughed her laugh, and _holy Zeus_, he fell in love with her just a bit more, "I love Italy already." He joined her with her jest, "I must be a very good host then, considering all you've seen is my bedroom."

"Don't forget, I saw a lovely thirty seconds worth of your parlor, too."

He chuckled again and sat up, the duvet pooling at his hips, revealing a toned chest and stomach peppered with love bites._ I've not only caught myself a witch_, he thought,_ I have also caught myself a vixen._

He caught her staring, "Like what you see, _passerotta_?" It was her turn to smirk, and she pulled him down and kissed him. Nico enjoyed her answer very much.

"Join me in the shower?" He asked, hoping not to have pressed his luck.

"I'd love to," she whispered against his lips.

.

.

.

He let her get dressed in peace, offering her an old silk dressing gown that had been backed into the corner of his closet, until he could dig around for some of Hazel's clothes, at the very least something that would fit her. His own gray button down was open, and black jeans rode low on his slim hips, kept up with a belt consisting of a ruby-and-diamond-skull encrusted belt buckle. Nico knew it was a bit much just for Hermione who had seen him bleeding, and naked, and bleeding _and_ naked, but he did love that belt buckle.

The half-Italian threw open the curtains in the parlor, letting the _Roma_ sunlight shine in. Mediterranean-blue skies filled half of the picture windows, the other half filled with the old brick skyline of his homeland.

America might have been his more frequent place of residency, but Nico could never get enough of the thrum of old magic in _Roma_ that kept him coming back. Just on the other side of the city, his _mama_ had grown up, playing in the streets, helping in her father's shop.

The pull of wanting to settle down in Italy got stronger with each visit.

Shaking his head at the notion of him ever settling down _anywhere_, he turned to go to the kitchen, fully intent on getting that cup of _caffee_ for Hermione, as promised, and maybe he could scrounge around for some _cornetto_ that weren't half stale.

The kitchen at his 'little place in Rome' was very modern, and probably Nico's favorite room in the house. He'd put in stainless steel appliances and chic black marble counter tops. A glass-topped stove sat adjacent to the fridge, next to a double sink. The son of Hades thought himself a bit of a chef, but he was Italian, and he had yet to meet one that wasn't.

By far his favorite feature though, was the drawing that was pinned up on the refrigerator with a Finding Nemo magnet: a drawing of the leaning tower of Piza done in orange and blue crayon, courtesy of Nico's godson, a four-year-old Luke Jackson.

Smiling at the drawing before opening the fridge, Nico rummaged around, finding some jam and butter. He practically jumped out of his skin when a voice, distinctly feminine and very familiar, said, "This place really is full of _wonderful_ _views_."

"_Merda_," Nico swore, ducking his head out of the fridge and rubbing the back of his head, which he'd hit on the fridge. Why hadn't he felt a presence sneak up on him?

When he turned around he got his answer. Aphrodite. Not a human, no soul. The lovely Lady of Love herself was sitting at one of the leather upholstered bar stools, smiling coquettishly at him, and twirling a piece of hair, blonde it seemed, around her finger.

He had a very distinct feeling she'd been talking about his ass a moment before. As great as he knew his ass was, it was still kinda creepy.

"As they say in _Italia_, _ciao_." She said.

Nico bent at the hips, bowing, righting himself after a moment, "Lady Aphrodite, what a...wonderful surprise. Would you like something to drink? Espresso maybe?" He laughed nervously at the end, cursing himself. Aphrodite didn't make his veins swim with lust like she did with other men, but he always had a sinking feeling in his stomach she was going to pounce on him one day and have her way with him. The feeling was strengthened ten-fold when he felt her eyes on him, tracing his chest and abs.

"Oh, that would be lovely, _mon_ _copain_." She folded her hands, resting her chin on top of them daintily as Nico set to work, pausing to button up his shirt. "Not that I don't enjoy your company, Lady Aphrodite, but is there a certain reason that you're here? No one really makes curtsey calls now-a-days. "

He looked over his shoulder just enough to see Aphrodite smirk, "Oh la la, _mais_ _bien sûr_. But I was going to wait until your, mmm, lady friend showed up." She said no more as Nico continued to make her drink. He was just about to hand over the goddess's cup when a different voice, one Nico felt much more comfortable with, said, "Nico, are you in he- oh, hullo."

Nico whirled around to see Hermione standing in the entrance of the kitchen, with wild and slightly damp curls and rosy cheeks. The black silk robe was pulled snugly around her waist, and Nico was certain she was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen. He shook that thought from his mind, though, fearing that Aphrodite pick up on it. He did not want to be turned into a dove or a lion or something.

Crossing the length of the kitchen in two strides, Nico wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist, "_Amore_, I'd like to introduce you to-"

"The goddess Aphrodite?" Hermione finished. Right, brightest witch of the age.

"Ah, _sí_." Nico said shortly, "And Lady Aphrodite, this is-"

"Hermione Jean Granger, of England. Yes, you two are just the talk of Olympus. That adventure is Surrey last night was just so romantic, just..._trés_ _magnifique_!" Aphrodite got a dreamy look in her eyes (blue today?) while Nico frowned. "We almost got killed, several times," Nico pointed out.

"_Oui, je sais_, that makes it all the more romantic, _n'est pas_?"

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Hermione took a step forward out of the demigod's hold and said, "Er, Lady Aphrodite, is there something you need our help with?"

Aphrodite looked to Nico, "She's so bright, isn't she? Keep her." Turning back to Hermione, she said, "Of course there is. You see, the world is in a great deal of danger. I hate to break your _trés romantique_ getaway, but if I don't have a strapping, young hero and a bright, young witch to help me, this could be the very end."

Of course, just when things were going his way...

"What's the problem, miss?" Hermione prompted.

Aphrodite let out a deep sigh, "My son, Eros, is missing."

**Ta-da! Ok, translations.**

**Cara- dear (Italian)**

**Passerotta- sparrow (Italian endearment. They're weird...like French endearments)**

**Caffee- coffee (Italian)**

**Cornetto- Italian pastries, served usually for breakfast. It's croissant like.**

**Merda- shit (Italian)**

**Italia, ciao- Italy, hello (Italian)**

**Mon copain- my boyfriend (French)**

**Mais bein sûr- but of course (French)**

**Amore- love (Italian)**

**Trés magnifique- very magnificent (French)**

**Oui, je sais_n'est pas- yes, I know_right? (French)**

**Trés romantique- very romantic (French)**

**No idea when the next update will be with school coming up, but soon hopefully! Reviews are love!**


	2. Breakfast at Nico's

**11 faves already? THANK YOU. Btw, the first chapter of the Harry Potter fic I've been going on about shall also be posted today. **

**Chapter 2**

**Breakfast at Nico's**

The last thing, when on a romantic getaway with the woman of his dreams who he'd met less than twelve hours ago, was a missing god. And Nico was sure of one thing: this wasn't a part of an evil uprising or something remotely serious. This was not the end of the world. This was just some god getting back at Aphrodite, and the Lady of Love herself wanted the two of them to do her dirty work for her.

But if that wasnt the exact definition of a demigod, he didn't know what was.

"Who'd you piss off then?" Nico said with a sigh, finding the pastries he was looking for and then returning to the bar. Aphrodite had the decency to look insulted. Hermione looked amused.

"_Excusez-moi_, I did not 'piss off' anyone." She took a sip of her espresso and dabbed her lipstick, "someone just happened to...get _affronted_ by one of my children's actions. Eros, if you wanted to be precise."

Hermione accepted her drink with a graceful nod when it was presented to her, "Eros is the Greek form of Cupid, correct?" She paused to look at Nico, who gave her a nod. Hermione's eyes lit up, and Nico's stomach dropped pleasantly. "So, Eros made an already taken man, ah, _go after_ someone else, and their spouse got rather, vengeful?"

With a wave of her hand, Aphrodite produced a large, polished bronze disk, that floated up to approximately the height of her head. The goddess of love produced a red lipstick and reapplied, admiring her reflection, all the while saying, "Ugh, yes, and you'd think after a while, my stepmother would get used to it."

A crack of thunder rolled over Roma, and the goddess rolled her eyes. Nico snorted, and Hermione had a wry smile set on her face. The thunder continued in a threatening manner for a few more moments when it ended grumbling into nothing. "Why doesn't this surprise me? Why does this whole thing, not surprise me?" Nico said, throwing one hand up in the air.

"So Hera-" a grunt of thunder-"sorry, _Lady_ Hera got mad at _Lord_ Zeus again for the _thousandth_ time in the millennia, and the culprit ends up suddenly disappearing. Brilliant." Hermione said. She took a _cornetto_ off of the plate Nico'd put out and took a bite.

A sigh escaped Aphrodite and the bronze disk disappeared, "_Oui, c'est trés mauvais_. I think she should just divorce his sorry ass, do you know how much easier that would make my job?" Hermione nodded enthusiastically while Nico had a sinking feeling that his girlfriend (sort of?) had just made friends with one of the only goddesses that scared the shit out of him.

Speaking of which, was Hermione his girlfriend? Really, they killed a werewolf, defeated Death Eaters, had coffee together (sort of?) and _slept together_ for the gods' sakes, but did that really mean anything? As the demigod watched the petite witch talk animatedly with Aphrodite about some girly thing Nico couldn't find himself to care about, Hermione's eyes lighting up and the smile on her face made Nico's insides twist happily. He what always been more of a One Night Stand Wonder. He never stayed around anywhere for too long: the longest he'd ever been in one place was here in Roma, for a whole month, and then he'd had to make his leave, off to do something for his father.

Was Hermione worth settling down and have a relationship wi-

"Nico? Nico? Olympus to Nico, are you there?" The demigod snapped out of his thoughts as the Lovely Lady herself waved a perfectly manicured hand in front of his face. He blinked several times, and shook his head, "_Perdon_, you were saying?"

The goddess rolled her eyes and turned back to Hermione, saying, "Really, men and their five second attention spans." The witch nodded, which made Nico scowl, "Oh, I know, they can't pay attention unless it has to do with food or boobs."

"I have ADHD."

"Excuses," Aphrodite said, "but anyway, I need you and Hermione here to go and find my son. He's somewhere here in this city, but if you find his Greek or Roman form, Daddy knows," a grumble of thunder, "scratch that, Daddy doesn't know either."

Nico collected the breakfast dishes. How did one go about finding a lost god in a city as big as Roma, and as old as Roma, too? There were plenty of nooks and crannies for a god to be hidden in, and for other, much less pleasant things to be hidden in as well. The last time he'd gone exploring, he'd taken a few wrong turns and accidentally ended up next to a brothel filled with empousi, which would probably go down in history as the worst way to die.

"He should be hard to miss," Aphrodite was saying, "I mean, how many giant turquoise peacocks can there actually be in Rome."

Nico almost dropped one of the plates. "A _bird_, we have to go find a giant bird in a _huge_ city?" Hermione said incredulously.

"By sundown." Aphrodite said, "or it's permanent and all the _l'amour_ in the world suddenly fails."

"I guess we should get going then." Nico said, turning back to face his guests. "But I can't go around running around Rome of all places in a borrowed dressing gown," said Hermione.

Aphrodite's eyes light up, and sparkled lavender for a moment, "Leave it to me, _cherie_, you will look _fantastique_!"

Nico left them to it, backing out if the room quietly and jogging to the bathroom to make a call.

.

.

Lou Ellen was not one of the most agreeable of demigods. He was pretty sure it had to do something her stark Russian demeanor, and the fact that everyone in America called her Lou Ellen because they couldn't pronounce Lyusha Ekaterina. But it might have also been being a daughter of Hecate, a goddess that everyone loved to riff on because she was a little _touched_ in the head.

Creating a rainbow with the showerhead was the easy part, psyching himself up to call the Russian wasn't as simple. Considering it was almost noon in Italy, it would be about two in Lou's beloved Moscow. Nico took a deep breath, he was the son of the god of the Underworld and sole heir to the throne of his father, to have to speak with one Russian demigoddess should be a walk in Elysium.

"O, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering!" He shouted and threw a drachma into the rain. It rippled. "Lou Ellen Yedemsky, Moscow, Russia."

The rainbow rippled again to show an annoyed looking Lou, surrounded by ancient magical texts, talismans, vials of brightly hued liquids, and a black cat lazing on top of several stacks of tarot cards. Veils of sheer, sparkly fabric draped her Moscow appartment, designs representing olde magiks painted on the purple walls.

"I am busy, comrade, we will talk later." Lou said, reaching to wipe through the mist when Nico shouted, "Wait, look, I need your help." Lou Ellen froze, mid-reach and Nico took that as an opportunity to explain what Aphrodite had told them. At the end, Lou Ellen just looked amused.

"God like Eros will be easy to track. Grab paper and I will tell you what you need." Lou Ellen said in her heavy accent. Nico ducked out of the bathroom to grab paper and a writing utensil before Lou started rattling off items, most of which Nico had never heard of and sounded grotesque and painful.

"You must purchase certain amulet, which store there in Rome will have." She said again, and Nico wrote down the address. It would be expensive, probably, but Nico's dad was the god of riches. Nico di Angelo was kind of a trust fund baby.

The end of the call was nearing, and Lou was sure she had helped him in every way possible. "Italian wizards are funny people. They are useless at anything but making pretty things, which is luckily what you need. If you fail though, di Angelo, IM me, I would be liking to laugh at you. _Dasvidania_."

The connect was cut off, and Nico was suddenly standing alone in the bathroom with nothing but a scrap of paper for guidance.

And people thought he was weird?

"Oi, Nico, are you ready?" Came Hermione's voice. Nico looked at the paper with his curly Copperplate writing style. "Be right there!" He shouted back, and tucked the slip into the back pocket of his jeans.

**The chapter title was a spoof of Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Copperplate writing system was just the way children of the 40s and 50s learned to form their letters. In my head cannon, Lou Ellen is Russian, and nobody, not even Rick himself, can make me think otherwise.**

**Some translations!**

**Excusez-moi- excuse me (French)**

**Oui, c'est trés mauvais- It is/this is very bad. (French)**

**Perdon- Pardon (Italian)**

**L'amour- love (French)**

**Cherie- dear (French)**

**Fantastique- Fantastic (French)**

**Dasvidania- Good bye (Russian)**

**Until next time, faithful readers. Ciao!**


	3. Do as the Romans do

**Wow, 24 follows! Thanks! This might be the last update for a while, school starts soon and so does a lot of other stuff that isn't coursework. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 3**

**Do as the Romans do**

Nico got the surprise of a lifetime. Hermione Granger was wearing leather shorts. Hermione. Granger. Was. Wearing. Leather. Shorts. Aphrodite had made her indeed look fantastic. So fantastic that it might start to be a problem.

"A bit overkill, yeah? Aphrodite was having such fun though, I couldn't bare to let her stop." Hermione laughed. Other than the shorts, the goddess of love has decked Hermione out in a deep red shirt, and red Chuck Taylor's. A ceremonial bronze knife was strapped to her thigh, and if that wasn't sexy, Nico didn't know what was.

"Uh, Nico, are you ok?" Hermione asked, taking a step forward. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He tried to swallow the lump of cotton that had somehow lodged itself in his throat. "Everything's fine, great, and you...you...youlookreallyhotinleather."

She smiled wickedly, pulling him down by his collar to kiss him. "Thanks. How did your call go?" he returned her smile and pulled her closer to him.

"How'd my what go?" He asked, kissing her, content to do so for however long she stood there. Finally, after Nico got a few more in Hermione finally pulled away. "Your call, you dolt, the one you made while Aphrodite clothed me."

Pulling away and standing up straighter, Nico smacked his palm to his forehead, "Oh, that call. It went fine. I have a friend who's a daughter of Hecate that lives in Moscow, and she gave me instructions." He removed a hand from her waist to reach into his back pocket. Hermione's hand beat his there.

She removed the piece of paper, reading his curly scrawl. "An amulet? Easy enough, and she gave you the name of the shop."

"It's somewhere in Wizarding _Roma_, but I'm not sure where. I've been before, but this is a big city, and exploring can be dangerous with someone of my parentage."

Nodding, Hermione turned and went back to the kitchen, easily perching herself on a bar stool again. Nico followed her. "Wizarding magic is usually very strong," Hermione said, "and feeds off of other magics around it. To find the gate into Wizarding Rome might take some walking around, but it's something you'll know when you see it."

The song of Hades sighed, shaking his head. "It's not going to be that simple, _cara_. _Roma_ is a much older city than London, and is built with a lot of _magical layers_, if you will. When I first came to _Roma_, my family and I had to explore the Roman level, one of the most ancient and deeply powerful magical layers. Wizarding magic is younger than that, and weaker here, I think, it's going to be harder to pinpoint the exact kind of magic that's working here."

Hermione had been listening attentively, and by the time Nico had finished, she had this dreamy, wistful look in her eyes. Perhaps the magic of Nico's home pulled all sorts of magical peoples, not just demigods. He could tell he she felt the thrum of power here that Nico felt, too.

Finally, Hermione said, "Than how do you suppose we find the entrance? We only have up until sundown tonight."

"Which, since it's the summer, won't be until eight or eight-thirty. What I'm suggesting is...we find Hecate."

"The goddess of magic? She resides here in Rome?"

Nico helped Hermione to her feet, smiling at her and twirling her around, "Of course, she's a very devout Roman Catholic*."

.

.

.

For an Italian, he liked to say he was a very good driver. Of course, perhaps a black motorcycle was not the safest vehicle of choice, but it _was_ the one that got him all the babes.

...and it made Hermione cling to him for dear life, so major plus.

He rarely used a helmet (but that doesn't mean _you_ shouldn't wear one, be safe, mortals), so he gave the one he did own to Hermione, who looked like she might pass out. "Haven't you ever ridden a broom before?" He had asked with a laugh.

Hermione had blushed, "Of course, but that's completely safe."

They were on their way to St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, a bit of a drive from Nico's apartment, but a scenic one at that. He could tell Hermione was enjoying the beautiful, rich history is homeland had to offer, because she kept asking him questions about it in his ear the entire time. Why wouldn't anyone not enjoy his homeland? The day was clear and warm, the Mediterranean blue sky cloudless. It was a good day for a bike ride, a good day to save a kidnapped god.

They finally entered the Vatican City limits, and the magic that flowed through everything: the street, the earth, it permeated the air and ran marathons through Nico's veins, started to ebb. Churches were good at that sort of thing. The grounds of a church counteracted all sorts of magics, and Nico would forever wonder why Hecate liked to hang around them.

Parking was a nightmare, but then again, it was always a nightmare in _Italia_. Nico and Hermione finally got a spot and joined the group of tourists and regular Italian Roman Catholics up the steps to the doors of perhaps the most well known cathedral in the world, St. Peter's Basilica.

"I wish I'd brought my camera." Hermione breathed as they entered. Nico smiled and took her hand, "We'll just have to come back." She stopped walking suddenly to look up at him and say, "Like a date?"

"Sure," Nico said, inwardly suppressing a smile, "Like a date."

They walked a little farther into the church, Hermione translating the Latin on the walls under her breath. Soon, she said, "Hecate is the goddess of witchcraft and sorcery. And she's into necromancy, too. She doesn't exactly strike me as the Catholic type."

The two of them entered into the main sanctuary, where the ornate altar was. Lowering his voice, Nico said, "She's very...spiritual. After the fall of the Roman Empire, my father tells me that she left most of her darker teachings and tried to find answers to why something so great fell, and she turned to what the Romans turned to, Christianity. She's...eccentric, and often misunderstood, but she's very powerful."

He watched Hermione's face as she took in the sanctuary. "It's just amazing."

They sat down in one of the pews, watching tourists mill around. "Nico," Hermione finally asked, "You're Italian, but are you Catholic? I mean, I know not everyone-"

"Technically, yes, I am," he said, effectively cutting off her nervous rambling, "I was raised that way, both here in _Italia_ and in Washington D.C. My mama raised my sister and me to celebrate Lent and eat fish on Fridays and go to mass twice a week. But after I found out my parentage...I left my faith. It's been a while since I've been in a church."

Hermione laid her head on his shoulder, "I used to go to church with my parents, back in England. After a while, it started to suppress my magic so much it hurt, and I had to leave, I felt awful."

They stayed there for several minutes, surrounded by the different sort of magic and peace that surrounded a church, until a low, whispery voice said, "Sprituality has affected us all, they cannot see it, they cannot see it. They try, but no, they cannot see it."

Nico's eyes snapped open (when had he closed them?) and sitting next to him was a hunched over form of a woman in a praying position. Short black bangs and shoulder length hair draped over pale skin, the white shift dress the woman wore effectively made her look like paper mâché.

"Lady Hecate." Nico said. Hermione gave a curious look over Nico's shoulders.

"You, necromancer have come, and you have brought with you a witch of Merlin's Age. You haven't stepped foot in here for a while." Hecate said, head still bowed, eyes still closed.

"Lady Hecate," Hermione said, barely above the whisper the goddess used, "can you help us find the entrance to Wizarding Rome?"

"Perhaps." The goddess said, raising her head to look up at the ceiling, exposing a pale face and long blue veins wrapping around an equally pale neck, "But a deal must be struck out first."

***so, side note on Hecate being Catholic because I just know I'm going to get hate-mail otherwise: Haley Riordan wrote about Hecate and described her as basically praying to a higher power. This is my interpretation of that, and since they are in Rome, I thought it would be fitting. No, I'm not trying to force my religion on the people of the Internet. I'm not even Catholic. You have a problem, feel free to read another fic.**

Translations

**cara- dear (Italian)**

**As always reviews are love and feed my lonely inbox!**


	4. All Roads

**Thanks for being so patient guys, there are a couple of reasons this didn't get posted sooner. 1) School started 2)My wifi was out and I literally don't know what to do with myself 3)That evil thing called writers block. But now that's all in the past! in this chapter you get more of a look at Nico's character and his feelings for Hermione! Also, the plot starts! **

**Chapter 4**

**All Roads**

To get the full effect of a back-corner deal, Nico supposed they should've talked in a darkly lit alley or something, away from the public eye, where anyone could press a gun against your ribs and put a bullet in you. Instead, they had decided to meet for an early lunch in a cafe just outside Vatican City limits. Nico didn't mind this, in fact he preferred it. Outside of Vatican City, magic was now coursing through the aether once more, and the deep depression he had felt on his chest had been lifted.

Hermione also looked a bit brighter, a hell of a lot stronger, and less pale that she had in the opaque light of St. Peter's Basilica. She seemed to be taking everything quite well, considering they were lunching with one of the more darker goddesses, who was currently staring straight ahead at nothing in particular. Nico had ordered the goddess some coffee, which sat cooled and untouched in front of her.

The cafe smelled wonderful, of rich spices, and a warm, early afternoon glow seeped in through the drawn shades. Hermione was leaned back in her chair, an iced tea balanced in her hand, as she observed Hecate, who had said little more than two words since they had taken their seats.

As Nico took a bite of his Caprese salad, swallowed and then said, "So, um, Lady Hecate, this...deal you want to strike up. Um..."

Sure, Nico was a smooth dude, but goddesses kinda scared him. Especially ones that had similar powers to his own.

Hermione just raised an eyebrow at his awkwardness and turned to Hecate, who had been mumbling something under her breath. Nico blushed.

"My torches," was all Hecate said, and then bowed her head again, continuing to stare at the checkered table cloth and say mumbled prayers to the gods knew who. Nico furrowed his eyebrows. Torches? He knew a lot of gods had them, it was kinda a fad in Ancient Greece and Rome, one he never really understood, but had Hecate finally lost it?

"Who took your torches, my lady?" Hermione asked. Ah, trust it to the brightest witch of the age to know what a bat-shit crazy goddess was talking about. Maybe it was a girl thing? Nico didn't know.

An ugly look overtook the goddess's pale face, making the veins in her neck pop out and contrast to an even more concentrated shade of blue. "Hermes, that wretched trickster. No wonder the gods keep him so busy, otherwise he's stirs up trouble for everyone, and ruins my spells."

Hermione cocked her head to the side, which Nico found abso-fucking-lutely adorable, "A spell? Hermes messed up a spell and took your torches?"

"Well that's just great," Nico said exasperatedly, waving his fork in the air to emphasize his point, "Hermes goes pretty much everywhere, if we have to track him down-"

"_No_," that one word spoken by Hecate immediately shut Nico up, "I was practicing down at the Colosseum, bending matter, a tricky bit of magic and he interrupted me. Made a delivery, and disrupted my magic, so now my practice grounds have been blocked off to even me by Residual Magick. An immortal being cannot enter without being killed straightaway by Hermes's special delivery." Hecate was now looking into the foreground blankly; large, acidic green eyes with tiny pupils stood in stark contrast against her face that gave her a hellish look.

"I don't see-" Nico began. Hermione cut him off to offer an explanation, "Residual Magick comes from a particularly strong spell, and if it's not done away with properly, it can have some rather nasty side effects, like this minor curse that is now set upon the Colosseum."

Nico considered this for a moment (damn, was it ever helpful to have Hermione around, gods never liked to explain things), "Being killed straightaway sounds like kinda more than a minor curse."

"It could be worse, Son of Death," Hecate said, and Nico noticed she had somehow managed to empty her coffee cup, "it could kill everyone who steps foot into the Colosseum. Fortunately, once you two retrieve my torches, the curse will be lifted."

"And if we don't get your torches?" Nico asked. A cruel smile twisted Hecate's face, "The entrance into Wizarding Rome is never revealed to you and Aphrodite throws a hissy fit that will make Troy look like a child's game."

Nico leaned back in his chair, his appetite diminished. "We don't have much of a choice, Nico," Hermione said, "this or World War Three. What have we got to lose?"

"Our lives for one thing," he said. _And I care too much about you Hermione, I can't lose you. _Turning to Hecate he asked, "Have my uncles been informed of this accidental curse?"

A scoff, "Of course not. The Olympians are good for nothing except sticking their noses where they needn't be."

"_Perfecto. Controllare prego_!"

.

.

.

The ride to the Colosseum gave Nico a bit of time to think about what they were getting themselves into. Demigods could go anywhere, and challenge whomever they wanted, and perhaps this was why the gods thought their half-mortal children were an indestructible species. But then again, gods were a little out of touch, and only a rare few heroes (*cough*PercyJackson*cough*) couldn't be touched. Whatever Hermes had delivered had obviously been nasty enough to make even a very powerful, if underrated, goddess flee, which, into retrospect, didn't narrow down the possibilities too much to whatever it may be.

It was nice though to have Hermione's arms around him as they passed through his lovely and historical home. He had complemented her on her vast knowledge of, well, everything, which had caused a blush and stammering reply. And, of course, a few kisses here and there.

Tourism in Italia was a full year thing. The parking lot for the the Colosseum tourists was as packed as ever, and filled with just as many annoying tourists from around the world as the last time Nico had been here, during the Second Giant War, fighting for Roma and Greece.

They easily slipped past the security guards, with the help of something called a disillusionment charm on Hermione's part, and a bit of Mist and shadow travel on Nico's. The air was sticky and heavy, and especially stale where they ended up: just outside the holding cells.

From the two's spot on Colosseum floor, Nico could spot mortal tourists with brightly colored shirts, all with cell phones and cameras held up to take pictures. A warm breeze ghosted over the floor, causing Hermione to visually shiver.

"Threat free so far," Hermione said.

"That's what worries me," Nico responded, scanning the area. "Does anything ever scare you?" Hermione asked, and Nico stopped cold for a minute.

_Yes_, Nico thought, _the fear of losing someone who finally knows what is like to have this power. The feeling of knowing that you may lose someone you love. The fear of not knowing whether this person has fallen as far in love with you as you have with them._

"No," Nico finally said, "Not really."

The wind died down, and an oppressive heat settle on the floor. The son of Hades could feel sweat prickle on his neck, and the hairs on his arms stand at attention.

"You feel that, too?" Hermione whispered. Nico just pressed a finger to his lips. He turned around slowly, and there, at the other end of the Colosseum floor, was a great brute of an animal, that bounded towards them, maw wide open, in a flash of bloody gold.

**Yay! Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long! Reviews are love and feed my lonely inbox.**

**Translations**

**Perfecto. Controllare prego (Italian)- Perfect. Check please!**


	5. Ride 'Em Cowboy

**Yeah, I know. I promised a quick update and yeah, it totally didn't happen. Sorry. School and such. But thank god, this chapter is finally finished. In this installment we get a bit more of a look into what Nico feels for Hermione. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5**

**Ride 'Em Cowboy**

If it wasn't for Hermione and her quick spelling, Nico's throat would have been ripped out. She had shouted a spell that Nico couldn't hear offer the sound of the blood rushing in his ears, but it slowed the Neman Lion down enough for Nico to roll away gracefully. The huge gold shape lunged just over him and landed like the great cat it was.

Nico tried to recall what Percy had said about killing the brute. Something about arrows and space food that Nico had never really understood, but he had gotten one thing: they needed to aim for the mouth if they were goi to kill it. But perhaps...

His heightened senses were working triple time. He could hear Hermione shout a curse, some sort of stunning hex which bounced off harmlessly, ricocheted off into the air, and brought a few more bricks of the Colosseum down. Whoops.

"I'd recommend not doing that in the future, _bella_." Nico said, casting a sideways glance at his companion. Hermione made a frustrated noise and rolled her eyes. "Any ideas then, if you're the expert?"

The lion was getting ready to pounce, Nico could tell, as it's shoulders tightened. They had perhaps twenty seconds to come up with a plan before they were lion chow. "Look for a place to contain it, without projectory weapons we might not be able to kill it."

"This is the Colosseum, Nico, there's whole cells for containment," Hermione said.

Duh.

"You get a gate open, I'll take care of this thing." Nico said. Damn, he was letting her out of his protection. The nearest gate was twenty meters down the wall, and a lot could happen in twenty meters. With his peripherals, Nico could see Hermione inching backwards slowly, eyes centered just above the lion's tail. A roar, and the lion pounced, sinewy muscle rippling under the bulletproof coat as it aimed for the moving target, Hermione.

Nico leapt after the lion, bringing his sword onto the underbelly of the Neman lion as more of a distraction than an attack. The beast roared and and tried to rear on Nico, who skillfully swung up and perched himself on its back. For a minute he was reminded of Leo dragging him down to one of those Texas rodeos ("These are like, the only things I miss about Texas, _amigo_, well, that and decent Mexican food, but whatever.") and riding a mechanical bull (he'd lasted a whole 42 seconds). The Neman lion even had those glowing red eyes and snorted steam like the mechanical bull had.

His blade was brought down on the brute's back repeatedly as he tried to keep it occupied. He could hear Hermione trying to battle the olde magicks that kept the gates down and the rest for he Colosseum locked up tight. An ancient metal was groaning and buckling. She better be hurrying up, Nico could keep this up fore-

A particularly hard buck on the lion's part and Nico's grip slipping sent him flying and landing awkwardly ten meters away. Too close to Hermione for comfort.

Growling echoed through the Colosseum. Nico could feel it rattling the floor and his right shoulder, which he must've dislocated in the fall, because damn it wasn't suppose to feel like that. Still, he was able to push himself up to sitting position, legs spread out in front of him. "How much longer, Hermione?" He yelled. A strained, "Soon," was yelled back. She was working just as hard as he was, he realized.

The Neman lion was now circling him, taking it's time to strike. Slowly, Nico reached for his sword, which was imbedded half way down into the Colosseum's floor, and pulled. It barely budged. It was stuck too far down into centuries worth of packed dirt. Perfect.

"_Merda_," Nico muttered, and struggled to stand. He was able to dodge as the lion made a swipe for his legs, but black was quickly closing in on his vision. Finally, a loud metallic clang, and "I've got it, Nico!"

He sprinted the best he could towards the gate, the lion following it's now moving prey. He slid under the gates, raised just enough for the monster's head and haunches to get under. With the lion (and him, for the moment) under the gate, and pain infiltrating his every cell, he managed to get out, "Close it, 'Mione."

"I can't! Not with you still in there!"

"Close it, don't worry about me. I'll be able to get out."

"Nico..."

"Now!"

A clang. A roar. Nico fell towards the shadows.

.

His shoulder felt much better, and he was lying on something soft. Warm sunlight seeped into his skin as someone hummed an English lullaby above him. Squinting his eyes open the best he could, he could see the hazy outline of honey brown curls above him.

"_Ciao, bella_," Nico rasped out. He felt like a Colosseum's worth of dirt had accumulated in the back of his throat, and a glass of water (freaking _magic_) was pushed to his lips. "You bloody _arse_. What are you doing to yourself?" Hermione said into his forehead before she kissed it.

He settled his head back down onto her lap. "People do strange things when they're in love."

"Nico, don't ever scare me like that again. And you get far too sentimental when you're hurt." It felt nice, her fingers running through his hair, even if she wasn't taking him seriously.

He cracked a smile, "Would you prefer, 'Get up and make me a sammich, bitch'? Cause I can do that too, I just don't like to." She laughed, smacking his chest lightly.

Realizing the moment was over, he sat up with Hermione's help. "What the hell happened, anyways? I remember shadow traveling, or trying to, anyways."

"You made it, but you were unconcious and wouldn't wake up so..." He got the point. The afternoon sun beat down above them, shading some of the Colosseum floor. They were losing time. Hermione vanished the empty glass as Nico cautiously walked to the edge of the gate where they'd caged the Neman lion. In the half light he could see the gold glint of a pacing creature, but it seemed that a memory of a fallen empire, olde magick, and iron gate could keep monsters locked away.

Satisfied with their safety, there was now the prospect of his sword sunk a foot or so into the floor of the Colosseum and not feeling the need to budge. "I might be able to-" Hermione said from behind him. Nico shook his head, "Don't exert yourself. I have a couple knives, and I can always get a new sword. We're going to need your magic later anyways."

"Speaking of magic, the torches. Now that we've taken care of the lion..."

Nico looked to the end of the Colosseum, and there on the dias were the torches, still lit and burning brightly as if Hecate had never lost them. "Guess that takes care of that problem."

.

The torches transported fairly easily, even when being held by a witch on the back of a motorcycle. They were about three feet each and were lit with a purple-blue hellfire, stronger than the stuff that Nico could summon, and he didn't like that fact.

Hecate was waiting at the café, head bent as usual, another espresso sitting in front of her. Hermione place the torches on the table, "We upheld our end of the bargain, it's your turn, Madame."

From his place a few feet away, Nico could see the corners of Hecate's upturned mouth. The goddess of magic raised her hand and made a shooing gesture towards the door. That was it?

"Lady Hecate-" Hermione began. Nico grabbed her hand and pulled her away. Of course it pissed him off that gods didn't uphold their ends of bargains but he didn't feel the need to be smited today.

He opened the door for Hermione and-

-was met with a street that certainly didn't belong to _Roma_.

**Reviews are love and feed my lonely inbox!**

**Translations-**

**bella- beautiful (Italian)**

**amigo- friend (Spanish)**

**Merda- shit (Italian)**

**ciao, bella- hello, beautiful (Italian) **


End file.
